Industrial and Postindustrial Societies Sociology: Chapter 5, Section 4

Basic Features of Industrial Societies The Industrial Revolution created a society that became dependent on science and technology to produce its goods Sociologists call this an industrial society

The Industrial Revolution brought workers from the farms to the factories

From an Agricultural to an Industrial Society There are some basic structural changes that happen when societies shift from an agricultural to an industrial foundation Industrialism brings a change away from simple, traditional technology (plows and hammers) toward using scientific knowledge to create more complex tools and devices Early examples of these advances include the steam engine and the harnessing of electrical power More recent examples include nuclear energy, airplanes, and the computer

Each of these inventions has changed the world

From an Agricultural to an Industrial Society In industrial societies, animal and human labor is replaced by machines This turning to machines is called mechanization With the help of this machinery, farmers are now able to produce enough food to support themselves and many others This resulting surplus of food allows for urbanization, where people move away from farms and villages to large cities

Farm machinery could do the work of fifty people, meaning a lot more food for everybody

Changing Role of the Family The role of the family and of the home is affected by industrialization in many ways Economic activities, once carried out in the home, move to the factories Education, which had consisted of teaching farming techniques in the home, now move to a formal school Urbanization pulls families apart, as people go off to faraway cities to find jobs

Changing Role of the Family Women enter the workplace, and become less subordinate to their husbands Because people are leaving their parents to go find jobs elsewhere, social class is based more on occupational achievement than on social class of one’s parents Personal choice and love replace arranged marriages

Ferdinand Tönnies Ferdinand Tönnies (1855-1936) was a German sociologist who wrote in 1887 about what he called Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft Gemeinschaft is German for “community” It describes a society based on tradition, kinship, and intimate social relationships These relationships were found in preindustrial societies Gesellschaft is German for “society” It is characterized by weak family ties, competition, and less personal relationships It is found in industrial societies

The Two Societies of Tönnies Gemeinschaft Gesellschaft

Emile Durkheim About six years after Ferdinand Tönnies published his theory, Emile Durkheim made a similar observation He also talked about two types of society, based on their social solidarity Social solidarity refers to how much people stick together through thick and thin Durkheim believed that social solidarity is determined by how labor is divided

When people have solidarity with each other, they stick together and are stronger as a unit than they would have been if the had remained independent from each other

Durkheim’s Two Types of Social Solidarity In societies where most people are doing the same kind of work, like in a hunting and gathering society or in a farming community, mechanical solidarity is the foundation of social unity This mechanical solidarity achieves unity by a consensus of beliefs, values and norms, as well a strong pressure for conformity, and a dependence on tradition and family These tend to be small, nonliterate societies People tend to behave, think, and feel the same ways as each other, and the needs of the group are placed above the needs of the individual

Durkheim’s Two Types of Social Solidarity On the other hand, if everyone in a society has their own specialized job to perform, then an organic solidarity can develop Organic solidarity occurs because people in specialized jobs depend on each other to perform their duties, so that whole society functions like a complicated machine that has specialized parts For example, people rely on being able to go to the barber to get their hair cut, the baker to get their bread, and candlestick maker to get their candles These are industrial societies, reliant on specialized and interdependent service industries It’s called organic solidarity because Durkheim compared society to a body with specialized organs, which need eyes, ears, and noses to all do their part

Major Features of Postindustrial Society Some societies, such as the United States, have passed beyond an industrial society into a postindustrial society In this type of society, the emphasis is on providing services and information rather than producing goods through manufacturing According to sociologist Daniel Bell (1999), there are five major features of a postindustrial society, which will be covered on the next few slides

How mankind has evolved into its post-industrial society

Feature #1 For the first time, the majority of the labor force are employed in services rather than in agriculture or manufacturing The industries that emphasize service include the government, banking, medical care, fast food, and entertainment They do not produce tangible goods such as oil or steel In 2004, about 75-80% of workers were in service jobs

This graph indicates the trend in the relationship between service and manufacturing jobs

Feature #2 White-collar employment replaces much blue-collar work In 1956, for the first time, white collar workers outnumbered blue collared workers, and that lead is increasing The fastest increase has been in professional and technical employment

A blue-collar worker is someone who performs manual labor A blue-collar worker is someone who performs manual labor. Often something is physically being built or maintained. In contrast, the white-collar worker typically performs work in an office environment and may involve sitting at a computer or desk.

Feature #3 Technical knowledge is the key organizing feature in postindustrial society Knowledge is used for creating innovations as well as making government policy As technical knowledge becomes more important, so do educational and research institutions

People need a wide breadth of knowledge to understand context as well as a deep specialized knowledge to be an expert in the field

Feature #4 Technological change is planned and assessed In an industrial society, the effects of a technology are not assessed before its introduction When the automobile engine was invented, no one asked if it would have an effect on the environment In postindustrial societies, the effects of an innovation are considered before it is introduced

Do you think we would have reconsidered the invention of the automobile if we foresaw the effects that pollution would have on the earth?

Feature #5 Reliance on computer modeling in all areas Computers are able to consider a large number of interacting variable simultaneously A model created by ZONA Technology shows aircraft deformations due to flutter.

Social Instability in Postindustrial Society Historian Francis Fukuyama (1999) believed that the transition to a service economy increases social instability He wrote about deteriorating social conditions that began in the mid-1960s. He noted: Inner-city areas of the wealthiest nations are almost uninhabitable Kinship, which had been declining the last 200 years, fell of sharply in the second half of the 20th century Marriages and births declined while divorce soared One third of children in the U.S. and one half of children in Scandinavia are born out of wedlock Trust in government and institutions declined throughout the second half of the twentieth century

Francis Fukuyama noted significant social trends since the mid-1960s

Will Social Instability Continue? However, according to Fukuyama, this social instability is now lessening There is evidence that we are returning to social stability Rates of divorce, crime, and out of wedlock births have all decreased recently In the United States, crime is down 15% since the early 1990s Divorce rates peaked in the early 1980s and are down Welfare roles have decreased since the early 1990s

Divorce rates per 1000 married women had been climbing steadily, but seems to now be on a downward trend

Why the Return to Social Stability? Fukuyama writes that humans find it difficult to live without norms and values “The situation of normlessness… is intensely uncomfortable for us, and we will seek to create new rules to replace the old ones that have been undercut.” (Fukuyama, 1999) Since culture can change, it can be restructured to fit changing economic and social circumstances

Assessment Complete #1-4 on page 163